Monthly Archives: September 2016

I have a Social Media project on the go (waves at https://twitter.com/librarytrustees) that is going to involve tweeting sections of existing documents.

I really hate counting characters. So I decided it was time to make myself a tool for the job.

Original Document and Result after Tweet Cruncher is run on the selected text

You can see above what I have; the selected area of the original document is highlighted in varying colours, corresponding to the resulting text broken up into tweets. Additionally, I have inserted my chosen hashtag and a count of the sequence of tweets.

Tweet Cruncher Dialog

The length of the tweets and the Hashtag are entered in a dialog box when the Tweet Cruncher runs. This information is saved with the document, for consistency with subsequent tweets. The Tweets are not exactly the tweet length; I’ve added a bit of code to “round off” each tweet to whole words. The hashtag and sequence count are additional to the length.

And realistically, there will still be editing for content and meaning. Nevertheless, this tool should save me a ton of counting and get the project going faster.

If you are using an iPhone or iPad and your vision is compromised (or, ahem if you are over 50), you might find these options useful. With every version of iOS the accessibility options have improved and expanded.

The following is the sequence of steps I follow when setting up an iOS device for someone with vision issues; as always your mileage may vary, but even if you only catch yourself squinting at your phone from time to time – give these options a try.

Change your Wallpaper to Black

It is cool to have nifty images on your phone screen, but if you are having trouble reading the labels for your folders, then it may be time to use a black background. You may also want to do this for your lock screen so that notifications and buttons stand out more.

The easiest method is to take a black photograph and use it as your background. Set your device on a table, block the light and take a photo (you may need to turn off your flash first). Use this photo for your background by going to Settings>Wallpaper> Choose a New Wallpaperand selecting your new photo from the Camera Roll.

Setting or Cancelling the change of Wallpaper

Choose the Setoption and then select the Set Home Screenoption

Setting the Picture to display on the Lock or Home Screen

Improve Your View

Next go to Settings> General> Accessibilityand select the following options:

Larger Text, you can start by using the slider to set your preferred text size or you make things even BIGGER by turning on Larger Accessibility Sizesand using the slider again. This comes with a couple of caveats. 1) Text is not affected everywhere on the device – tho Apple is clearly working to change this, and third party apps are (slowly) coming around. 2) Sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing and have text that throws off the formatting or wraps weirdly or overlaps illegibly. Again, these problems are gradually being worked on as apps are updated.

Setting the Larger Text size

Bold Text– turning this option on will require a reboot of your device, because EVERYTHING has to be redrawn. But this will make the typeface used far more readable.

Button Shapes– turning on button shapes will make them easier to find. Now, if they were only used more consistently throughout the OS, that would be awesome.

Increase Contrastand turn on Reduce Transparencyand Darken Colors. This should also help text stand out more.

Increase Contrast options

On/OffLabelsadd the | 0 symbols to your toggles, and I say why not!

Accessibility Options

Use your Home button to Zoom IN

While you are still in Settings> General> Accessibility, move down to Accessibility Shortcut. Here you can customize the action of the Home button when your triple-click it. Choose Zoom

Don’t worry about turning Zoom on here, that is what your triple-click will do. Instead:

Turn on Follow Focusand Smart Typing.

You may choose to Show Controller, but I find there is a balance between clutter and helpfulness, for me this clutters the screen too much.

Zoom Options Part 2

Select Zoom Regionand choose Window Zoom.

Play with the Maximum Zoom Levelslider, you’ll probably adjust this more later.

To turn the zoom window on triple-click your home button and the zoom window will appear, outlined in black with a small tab handle at the bottom.

The Zoom Window in action

This is a toggle, so a second triple click turns the zoom window off. And what is really great, is that you can interact with the screen through the window. Click on links and type in dialog boxes whatever you need to do. This window is not just for viewing!

Customize the Zoom Window

By touching the tab handle shape at the bottom of the zoom window, a customization menu opens up.

Changing the Zoom Window options

Through it you can:

Zoom Out(turn off window)

Change to Full Screen Zoom

Resize Lens,Resizing the Zoom Window

which will allow you to resize the Zoom Window with the handles provided.

Choose Filter, which will set a colour filter on the Zoom Window

Show Controller

Change Magnification using the slider, which uses the setting from the Maximum Zoom Level, you set earlier.

Add a Magnifier to the Home Button

The new magnifier option isn’t for your screen, but rather for all the small print articles you need to read. From menus in dark restaurants to the label on a pill bottle, if you have your phone you can read it. Go to Settings> General> Accessibility > Magnifier

turning on the magnifier

Turn on the Magnifierand Auto-Brightness.

Now when you triple-click your Home button, an Accessibility Shortcutsmenu will pop up. Tap the action you want to perform.

I just came across a new free photo site called https://unsplash.com/ if you are creating visuals for your library’s social media feed, they have great pictures of books and people reading. Perfect for combining pictures and quotes. I was inspired by the picture below:

Books Everywhere

So I headed off to the internet to find a quote that I thought was perfect for these random stacks of books.